Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-04-01
An Evening with Magnets.

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The power of attraction Which,
magnet possesses is called magnetism
from the name of the ancient CITY =.
Magnesia, in Lydia (Asia Minor. M
fact that q certain kind of iron ora
commonly called loadstone, possesse,
the power of attracting iron has bean
known from very remote times, but i
is only comparatively lately discovered
that other metals also possess magnets
power, in virtue of which they are ats
tracted by a magnet or loadstona
Metals, such as bismuth, antimonS
zinc and tin, etc, being repelled b.,
magnets, are called diamagnetic. Mac.
netism, which is a mode of motion, as q
all force, lies dormant in every form Of
matter; but, unlike electricity, it can.
not be made to manifest itself in ali
bodies. In certain substances, such 40
iron and nickel, magnetism a be eS.
cited by another magnet, OF by that
huge magnet, the very earth itself.
Again, unlike electricity, magnetism
affords no phenomena directly ad-
dressed to the senses, but is distin.
guished from electricity by the perma.
nency of character when once induced. |
A piece of steel can be magnetized by
simply rubbing it with another magnet.
To prove this, rub a needle over one Of /
the poles Of a permanent magnet.
when the needle will become indie.
pendently magnetic. The most power
full magnets are made by induction az
follows: A covered wire is coiled /
around n steel bar which is to be mag
netized, and a current Of electricity is
passed through the wire. Under this
process the bar becomes permanently /
magnetized. Sometimes magnets made
this way will sustain twenty-eight to
thirty times their own weight.
In magnetism, as in statical electri-
city, there are positive and negative
poles; but one difference is that either
positive or negative electricity q be
generated at pleasure, but in magnet |
ism, one is always accompanied by the
other, no matter how large or how
small the magnet may be. Another
popularity of the magnet is that i'll
always has its two poles at the ends,
with aneutral point between. 70 prove
this, roll a magnet in some iron flingsl
(emery or magnetic sand will answer, !
when they will become attached in
clusters around the poles. while the
center will be perfectly free from the
filings. The direction and the beauti-
full curves produced by the mutual at
traction of the particles of iron for each
other, with the universal attraction oil
the magnet for them all, can be shown
by the following experiment, the result
of which will be an abundant reward
for the trouble: Wax a sheet of paper
and stretch it on a wooden frame; then
place q magnet directly under and]
touching the paper, when, by sprink5
ling iron filings on the waxed s~urface|
and gently tapping the frame, beautiful
and symmetrical curves will be formed.
To permanently fix these, hold a hot
f1at-iron over the paper till the wax
becomes softened; then by removing
the iron and allowing the wax to
harden, the filings will remain fastened
to the paper.
Induction is the power q magnet pos
sesses to develop magnetism in iron or
steel. Magnetism is induced in soft
iron or steel when brought in contact
with a magnet, and the steel becomes d
permanent magnet, whereas the soft
iron loses it's magnetism when contact
is broken. However, traces of magnet
ism can be induced in either with
out actual contact. To illustrate the
law of induction, place a piece of soft
iron, such as an ordinary nail, in con
tact with q magnet. If the iron be
then dipped in some iron filings, they
will adhere to the nail only so long as
the connection between the magnet and
the nail remains nnbroken, thus prov
ing that soft iron is only capable Of be-
ing made a temporary magnet. When
two poles Of opposite polarity are
brought together, they are mutually
neutralized. To show this, suspend
a number of nails on the opposite pole
of a magnet, when, upon touching with
another pole Of a negative polarity the
nails will fall.-Golden Days.